How The Circle Won the Uprising and Other Stories by Seraphina Wayland
by Seraphina Morningwood
Summary: First there was Valentine and Jocelyn Morgenstern, then there was Jonah and me. This is the history of our family and of it's place in the Shadowhunter world. It is also the history of how we made history on many different occasions. So sit back while I tell these little snapshots from my childhood, cuz it's going to help you going forward to know how all of these things came to be
1. How The Circle Won the Uprising

How the Circle Won the Uprising

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***Thanks mucho to my beta Jace loves me for checking my mistakes etc. You rock!***

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**AN: Hi, Seraphina Wayland here! Okay so those of you who haven't read my profile yet may not understand who I am, so I encourage you to check that out first. The story told in this chapter is actually from before I was born, so I won't even be in it, but my parents will be. This story has been told to me like a thousand times, so now I'm telling it to you and I'm proud to tell it because it's an important part of our history as well as my own personal history. Enjoy! ****\- Seraphina R. Lightwood-Wayland**

**Valentine's POV**

The attack was well planned, there was just one thing worrying me. I knew that Jocelyn had been taking off to meet someone and I was pretty sure it was Luke. I needed to talk to her about it and find out if she was still loyal, before we decided when to launch the attack, so I knew whether it would be safe to let her in on the plans.

"Jocie, can you come here please?" I asked her and that was when I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I had spent any time with my wife. She came to stand at the side of the chair I'd been reading in. I pulled her down into my lap and I said, "First things first, I'd like to apologize to you. I've gotten so caught up in planning the Uprising that there hasn't been much time for us and I'm sorry Baby." I sighed, knowing full well that I had failed her. No wonder she was sneaking out to meet Lucian. I probably would be in her shoes too.

"Do you mean that? Because I know there are a lot of things you've been keeping from me and I can't live in an environment full of lies and treachery, Valentine. I love you and I have always loved you and I can respect that you have a lot of extreme political ideals and a devotion to science, but my love for you can't be the only thing holding this marriage together. You need to want to be in it and you need to show me that on a regular basis. I just want to feel like I am a priority for you and honestly, I haven't felt that I am for quite some time." She said, pushing away the odd tear.

"I know now that I have been failing you, as a husband, in our marriage and I want to make it up to you. I know that you've been down to the basement and so I know that you know more about my experiments than what I have told you myself. But I can imagine that you saw things there that may have upset you and I am sure you have many questions. So if it helps, I would be happy to answer them for you, my Love." I smiled with all the warmth of my love for her. Just because I was devoted to The Circle's cause, didn't mean that I wasn't devoted to my wife. I have always loved my wife.

"Okay, well why do you have an Angel in chains and are you planning on letting it go any time soon?" She huffed.

"Its name is Ithuriel and I am pretty sure that it would have wanted to assist in my experiments if it were allowed to do so. However Angels are required to deem whether or not us humans are deserving of their help by the purity of their intentions. When the Angel Ithuriel looked into my soul, admittedly, there was a lot of darkness to be found. I don't claim to be perfect and I know myself pretty well. I realize that most of my hatred for Downworlders comes from the death of my father. And maybe personal revenge isn't the greatest motive. But it isn't just for my own sake that I want them to die!

"It's for my family and all of the other Shadowhunter families like the Graymarks who terrible things happen to at the hands of Downworlders, as well as the unsuspecting mundanes who end up being bitten by a vampire or a werewolf while out minding their own business! The Clave has spent copious years trying to rein them in and make them behave but doing so goes against their nature and they have made very little progress. What happened to Lucian and my father should be proof enough of that.

"I have the Angel because I need its blood. I tried to use Lilith's blood on Jonathan thinking mistakenly that it would affect his abilities but not his nature, because unlike a demon he has a soul. But as you know it backfired and as such, I fear he will be even harder to reign in than the Downworlders are, so I admit it was a huge mistake. But since Shadowhunters are angelically allied, I feel there is a much better chance of this working properly. And just think… if a child can be born with any of the Angels abilities, that child could do wonderful things and be an excellent addition to our family as well as to our cause!

"So, I've been giving you Ithuriel's blood in both the hope that it will counteract the negative effects you felt after the demon blood and also that if you should become pregnant again, a child could be born that would be the exact opposite of Jonathan and may even be the thing that reigns him in. They could balance each other out, at least in theory. I know you don't like my experiments, but I would like your permission to keep the Angel a while longer, provided I treat it well.

"Celine Herondale is pregnant and I have been giving her the Angel blood as well. Her baby is due to be born soon and then we will find out exactly how well this experiment has worked. If it has worked well enough, I would like to keep the Angel for two more years so that any of The Circle families who would like to may have a chance to participate in what I am calling the Angel program. After that, it will be released unharmed. Can you give me that long?"

She sighed but I knew that the prospect of a baby being born that could temper Jonathan and/or make up for what I had done to him, was enough to peak her interests. "Yes, but you had damned well better treat it properly. That is a heavenly being in our basement, not a pet or a prisoner, do I make myself clear?" She stated, still angry but less so.

"Yes, very clear. Thank you for hearing me out." I smiled and kissed her with all the passion I had been neglecting lately, which if she wasn't already convinced was enough to do the trick.

"And Baby, I know how much you hate werewolves, and no one can blame you for that, I mean they did kill your father. But Lucian, he hasn't changed, Valentine. He's exactly the same person in here as he always was and I think you owe it to him, to give him a chance. He still loves you, Valentine. He always has and he always will. And who knows, maybe with all of your science we could find a cure for Lycanthropy and you could have your Parabatai back, my Love, wouldn't you want that if it were possible?" She said, trying not to cry, yet trying to make me understand. And I did, sort of.

The emotional part of my brain wanted nothing to do with forgiving Lucian. The logical part knew three things. First, this was obviously something that Jocelyn wanted and in the spirit of trying to fix our relationship, I would do well to heed her requests. Second, it would definitely be useful to have a Downworlder on our side, from which we could gather information. And I did trust him at one time, with my life even. Maybe, just maybe he could be trusted again. And third, she was right. Just because a cure has never been found, doesn't mean there isn't one. I mean, essentially that's what science is. Fixing the unfixable and discovering the undiscoverable. So maybe, there _was_ hope for Lucian. And oh how badly I wanted to believe that.

"Jocelyn Darling, I believe you will be my salvation in this crazy world of ours. I will talk to Lucian. Maybe he will even assist with the Uprising if I cut a deal to spare his pack. I hope you're right though, my Love. I don't enjoy getting my hopes up only to see them dashed on the rocks." I sighed and relaxed into the arms of my beloved, knowing that we had a lot to do and hardly enough time to do it in. But in this moment with my beautiful bride I knew. All of the politics and all of my experiments, they could wait until tomorrow.

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The next day, she took me to Brocelind Forest to meet Luke. When he first saw me, sufficed to say he was less than pleased. "Why did you bring him here? You know he wants to kill me!" He thundered at Jocie. I had to restrain myself from attacking him in that moment for daring to speak to my wife that way. But when I thought about it, I realized he must have felt just as betrayed upon seeing me there as I did upon finding out that she had been sneaking off with him. So, I stayed my hand.

"Wanted, Lucian, past tense. I had wanted to kill you. I had thought it was best and that the man I knew wouldn't want to be a monster. I hadn't been in my right mind when I asked you to end yourself. And I wasn't thinking scientifically. Let me ask you, Lucian. If a cure could be found one day, would you take it? Would you choose to be a Shadowhunter again?" I asked him.

"Valentine, of course I would! You know I would never want to stay this way. I never, ever wanted this! And Valentine, you're right about Downworlders in one sense at least. They are lesser beings. Most of them have no way of knowing it, but when I transformed and was no longer a Shadowhunter, it was like I felt the Angel's blessing being stripped away. I felt as I imagine a mundane with an illness might feel. Out of sorts, a shell of one's former self, as a Downworlder, your allegiance isn't demonic, but it isn't angelic either. It is what you make it, I've learned.

"And I'm not stupid, I still know my right from wrong and I know that the werewolf who attacked me and all of the multitudes like him need to be stopped. I also know that at any moment, I could do something just as terrible as that or worse because in my animalistic state, I lose control. Jocelyn keeps trying to convince me that I'm the same man I was but I know better. Maybe if she'd had another few weeks to keep telling me the same things, I would have allowed myself to believe it because it's easier than all of this self-loathing. But it wouldn't make it true, Valentine and for that I am sorry. I know I wasn't the only one who lost something that day. I know it must be hard for you as well." He sighed.

After his little speech, my decision was made. "You are the one tenth, brother. I've decided that one tenths of the Downworlders in this world, might just deserve to be saved. After the Uprising, I plan to get started on a cure for Lycanthropy as well as for Vampirism. If they can come up with a cure for Astriola, then surely a cure can be found for you also." I smiled, feeling hopeful for the very first time since his transformation.

"Oh good, you're still going through with the Uprising then? The werewolf representative is a lowlife anyway. I've been doing some research and I think most of the Downworlder representatives are basically scum. There might be a couple who are, as you would put it, 'part of the one tenth' but not many." He shook his head.

"Good then, if you can get me the names of the one tenth, I assure you they will be spared. And I'd say with the Shadowhunters, that the opposite is true. Most can and will be made to see reason. But one tenth of them are garbage and should be destroyed as such. Unfortunately for the Clave, the garbage tends to find its way into power, hence why the government is so corrupt. I will find out which Shadowhunters should be spared and we will give our people a list of our allies from among the riffraff so they will know what to do. How soon do you think you can be ready?"

"As soon as you need, as I've said, there aren't many worth sparing. The ones who are will be loyal though and they'll help to destroy the others." He said confidently.

"Perfect. I'm glad to have you on my side, Lucian. I know from past experience that you make a formidable opponent, but an even better friend." I smiled. And just like that, all was forgiven.

"After everything, Valentine, you would still… call me… _friend_?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes Lucian and I hope that a cure may be found, so that one day, I might again call you Parabatai, also." I grinned. And I knew that one day, I would make it so.

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"Are all of our people in place, Robert?" I asked my good friend on the morning of the Uprising.

"Yes Sir. Patrick and I will be bringing in the A Team. And the Pangborns are ready with the B Team. Your Mutty Buddy is ready with the one tenth and they will be hanging back in case anyone escapes." That is what the boys had taken to calling Lucian, 'my Mutty Buddy' but he didn't seem to mind.

"Perfect. As soon as I give the signal, you send the boys in, alright?" I asked.

"You bet." He nodded.

And so, ten minutes later, we were storming the Great Hall and it was a massacre. They never even saw it coming. As the Inquisitor lay dying he turned his head to look at me and asked "Why?" And I decided the answer to that was better given in a speech. So I stood up at the podium and told them all exactly why.

"It was a thousand years ago when Jonathan Shadowhunter first summoned the Angel Raziel to aid this world against demons. For a thousand years, that is what we've done. But recently, the Clave has been so caught up in its own political correctness that the demon scourge has gotten radically out of hand. Maybe Downworlders should have rights to an extent. But should those rights be prioritized over the safety and well-being of the mundane population, or even above the rights and freedoms of our own people? No! And that is why we have staged this coupe. The Circle will now be the power governing the Clave and we will be able to guide the Nephilim into the next millennia confidently, knowing that from now on our priorities are properly aligned.

"Without the help of the Nephilim, the mundane people would perish. Therefore, we need to make our own people's welfare and the creation of new Shadowhunters our first priority. Next of course, we need to take care of the mundane people whose protection we are charged with and we need to remember that there are nearly as many threats to their well-being from within Downworld as there are coming from the demon realms these days. And lastly, we need to concentrate whatever time we have left on the search for a cure to Vampirism and Lycanthropy because those diseases are responsible for the loses of many of our own people as well as many more in the mundane community. So that, my friends is the answer to the question of why we have done this thing today.

"From the destruction of the old and broken system… there will come a new and better one. In place of broken ideas like the accords which aimed to protect the rights of the individual, however evil they may have been; we will establish effective concepts like The One Tenth, which will provide amnesty and sanctuary to those in Downworld deserving of our help. It's time we stood up for what was right and stopped worrying about what is nice. And the time for change is now!"

And much to my pleasant surprise, the entire hall erupted in applause. For the people understood that day that on the ashes of the old, we would build the new. Just as the Silent City was built on the remains of our Shadowhunters, so too would the new Clave be built on the remains of the old one. And it would be glorious!


	2. A Little Girl's First Ice Cream Cone

A Little Girl's First Ice Cream Cone

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***Thanks muchly to my beta Jace loves me for checking my mistakes etc. You rock!***

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**AN: Hi, Seraphina here again! I just wanted to say a couple of things before we start this one. First, I'm not telling the story of my birth because even though I've heard it several times it still creeps me out to tell it. So, we're skipping ahead a little bit. This is the story a pretty significant family outing because it was the first time all the kids of my generation were ever in the same place at the same time. And yes, there is pictorial evidence of this! Again, you may want to check out my profile if you're confused about anything. Feel free to review or PM me if you want :-D The internet in Idris has gotten a lot better over the last few years, so I can get back to you pretty quickly! - S.R.L-W.**

**Jocelyn's POV**

"Valentine, may we do something totally crazy? May please we celebrate the end of Project Angel? With... ice cream?" I smiled at my husband who was the love of my life.

He laughed. "You want to celebrate the fact that we no longer have a celestial being living in our basement… with ice cream?"

"Sure, why not? We can get all of the families together and the Angel Babies can have their very first taste of ice cream." I grinned, pleased with my idea.

"What is ice cream mommy?" Our four year old asked me.

"Jonathan Sweetheart, Ice cream is a cold treat that tastes nice on a hot day." I smiled. Smiling at Jonathan hadn't always been something that I was able to do.

There was a time when I couldn't stand the sight of my own son because I thought that the demon's blood had made him evil. And after spending the first two years of his life trying to get through to him with absolutely no progress, I was even more convinced of that fact.

However, when I brought a little red headed bundle to him for the very first time, it had been evident right away that he was capable of so much more. He was capable of love. 'Is that my sister?' he had asked me.

'Yes Jonathan, she is your sister.' I had smiled at him then, for the first time.

Then he had laughed for the first time and, smiling back at me, he'd said 'She is beautiful mother. Very beautiful!' That was when I knew he could be saved.

And now, after I had explained to him the concept of ice cream, he walked over to Roxanne's crib and picked her up in his arms and while letting her play with his hair he said to his sister, "What do you think Phinny? Want to go get ice cream?"

She let out a giggle and said "Jah Jah, pway tase!" This was her little toddler way of asking Jonathan to chase her.

"Okay Angel, I'll play chase, but after that may we please go get ice cream father?" He asked looking innocently up at my husband.

"Yes Jonathan, yes we may." Valentine conceded. After all, he couldn't hold out against both of us asking.

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"Okay so, the Lightwoods are coming, the Penhallows, the Herondales, the Waylands, plus all of us. And Lucian said he won't miss either his Godchildren or his niece having their first ice cream cones, so he's planning on crashing the party. And with that many people, we will have to take our cones to the park because, there's no way the ice cream shop has room for all of us to sit at tables." I laughed, putting Roxanne's coat on.

"Well, that's fine, Seraphina and Jonathan haven't been to the park in a while, so I'm sure they'll be thrilled." He said, helping Jonathan tie his shoes.

"We're gonna play at the park mommy?" Jonathan asked, looking excited.

"Yes Sweetheart, after we get the ice cream." I smiled.

"Jah, Jah, pway tase?" Roxanne pleaded.

"Yes Phinny, at the park once we eat our Ice Cream, we can play chase." Jonathan laughed.

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"It's so good to see you all again!" I laughed, hugging Maryse, Robert, Alec and Isabelle in turn.

"Yes, you too, and Jocie, kids, we've missed you!" Maryse said, hugging Valentine and I and then Jonathan and Roxanne. "Valentine's been out to the Manor so much but I hardly get to see_ you_, girl!" She grinned.

I smiled. "Yes, well, a certain little person keeps me pretty busy." I said with a quick nod in Jonathan's general direction.

"I know I'm that certain little person mommy, you can say it." He laughed. "But I have to keep you busy, mommy. Phinny's _too_ easy. Without me, you'd be bored!" He said proudly.

"It's true. I would be!" I smiled reassuringly at him. Jonathan had come so far but he was still very, very mischievous and I needed to keep an eye on him at all times.

"Well, you're welcome to bring him over some time. I mean, how bad could it be?" She laughed.

And just then, as if on cue, Jonathan started trying to pull all of Isabelle's hair out by the roots and she began shrieking inconsolably. I decided that Maryse and I had better take the children outside and wait while the men ordered the ice cream or else we would probably be kicked out for causing a disturbance.

Once we had the herd all rounded up and ushered them outside, I sat down to talk to Jonathan. "Son, it is _not_ okay to hurt someone. We've been over this before. What you did to Isabelle was wrong. Do you understand that?" I asked him.

"Mommy she took Phinny's toy! Phinny almost started crying and I had to get the toy back and what_ she_ did was wrong, so I had to punish her!" He said pouting.

"It's not your job to punish people for the things they do Jonathan. If it's another child, that job falls to their parents. And Isabelle has a wonderful mother who can take care of disciplining her without your help, Son. Do you understand?" I asked and this time he nodded.

"Yes Mother. I need to say sorry to Isabelle and to Mrs. Lightwood don't I?" He asked.

"Yes Jonathan, you do. That's a good boy now, go on." I said encouraging him over to where Maryse was consoling her little girl.

"I'm sorry I took your job away from you. The next time I catch your little Angel behaving like a little demon, I'll come to you instead, I promise." He said, giving Maryse a hug and a wink. She laughed heartily at his solemn proclamation.

"It's alright Jonathan. I understand. And we all act like little demons sometimes, even if we don't mean to." She said, and ushered him toward Isabelle.

"I'm still mad at you for making my sister sad but I know it wasn't nice to hurt you. So for that I'm sorry Isabelle. And I hope that next time, we can both behave better." And he kissed her on the forehead.

"Like I said…" Maryse smiled. "You can bring him over to our house any time."

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Soon the rest of the Inner Circle showed up and we sent all of the men back in to get the ice cream. Maryse and Jia and Céline and Amatis and I, sat with the children outside. "Let's take a picture of all of the Angel Babies together, shall we?" Céline asked. And I seconded the motion. So I sat Roxanne down in the grass next to Isabelle. And Céline brought their Jonathan over (who they had started calling Jace). Amatis brought Amelia over and Jia sat Patrick Jr. down next to her.

The five Angel Babies looked so cute together, sitting there waiting for their ice cream, it was adorable! As soon as we finished taking the picture, Lucian arrived. He first went over to hug Amatis and snatched Amelia out of the group of babies.

"Where's Michael?" He asked her.

"Inside with the boys, getting the ice cream." She smiled. Around the time that Michael's wife had died was when Stephen had divorced Amatis and married Céline, a match that Valentine had had his hand in when he was furious over Lucian's transformation. After that, Michael and Amatis bonded and ended up marrying after a whirlwind courtship. They'd been blissfully happy ever since, and went on to have a daughter together, little Amelia, who was one of the Angel Babies.

"Alright, when he comes out, remind me to talk to him. I want to ask his permission to take you and the kids fishing tomorrow." He grinned mischievously at his sister.

"Why can't he come along?" She asked puzzled.

"Because he's going demon hunting with Robert, he told me so himself." He said, Amatis rolled her eyes and looked at Maryse.

"Did you know about that?" She asked her.

"Nope, but we both what that's code for." Maryse frowned. "Jocie, why don't you and the kids come over to my place tomorrow? It looks like I may be in need of a distraction." She sighed.

"Or better yet…" Valentine said, emerging from the ice cream shop. "Jocelyn, why don't you and Amatis _both _go over to Maryse's for a girl's day tomorrow and Lucian, _you and I_ can take the children fishing? I have some things I need to discuss with you anyway regarding the search for the cure." He smiled his award winning smile at us.

"_All_ of the children?" I asked, looking at the pile of babies around our feet. He laughed at that.

"Well, if we're taking _all _of the children, maybe we had better drag along a couple of extra fathers. Stephen, Patrick, what do you say, want to come fishing?" He asked them while I quickly did the math.

If they had Jonathan, Roxanne, Alec, Isabelle, Jonathan, Amelia, Aline, Patrick Jr. and Jace, then that would be nine children for the four men to watch. Could they pull it off? Just _maybe_ and besides, all of the Angel babies were exactly that, little angels.

"Sure." Stephen and Patrick both agreed.

"Good, that's settled then and everybody's happy." Valentine smiled.

Maryse sighed and I heard her under her breath say "_Almost everyone_."

I looked her in the eyes and whispered "We'll talk tomorrow, okay?" to which she nodded. I knew she never handled Robert and Michael's little 'outings' quite as well as Amatis did. Which I think was because in spite of it, Michael and Amatis still had a good relationship, whereas Robert, well, to say that Robert Lightwood wasn't a multi-tasker was putting it lightly. As soon he had eventually succumbed to the thing with Michael, he had stopped paying attention to Maryse completely. I think if you asked him, he'd tell you he still loved her, but they seriously needed to work on their relationship and neither of them seemed too willing to do so.

We all began to eat our ice cream while I snuggled up to Valentine. I whispered in his ear, "I'm so glad we fixed our marriage problems." He smiled and rested his hand on my thigh.

"I am too, Darling, I am too."

* * *

By the end of the ice cream adventure, all five of the toddlers were covered in ice cream. And so were all four of the preschoolers. "Well, aren't we a sticky sight!" I exclaimed, as myself and the rest of the mothers cleaned up the mess and got cloths ready for cleaning ice cream off of the children.

"Yes but a cute sight! Smile for the camera kids!" Uncle Lucian exclaimed.

And that was when I noticed something very weird but awfully adorable. The little boys had taken it upon themselves to lick all of the ice cream off of the little girl's faces like puppies. It was a curious sight and I wasn't sure whether to scold them or laugh. And when I saw _which _little boys were licking the ice cream off of _which _little girl's faces, I couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't a sign of things to come.

Eventually we got all of the children cleaned up and they frolicked and played in the park for a long time. It wasn't until a group of ducks landed on the pond later and Jace began shrieking blue murder that we decided to call it a day. And in all the years that followed, as our little group went through so many adventures, none of us parents ever forgot Ice Cream Day!


	3. What 90 of Downworlders Have in Common,

***Thank you ever so much to my beta Jace loves me for checking my mistakes etc. You are amazing!***

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What 90% of Downworlders Have in Common with the Dinosaurs

**AN: It's me Seraphina :-P First off, thanks muchly to the Guest who left me the nice review!**

**Okay so, I know I've said it before, and honestly I mean it, you should all take a minute to read my profile! My world is _different_ than your world and the Shadowhunters I know are not the same ones that _you _know, at least, not really.**

**But anyway, moving right along here. Okay, so this one is the story of how the merger between The Circle and the old Clave came to pass and how we got the new Clave, also known as The Circle's Clave or The Clave of Raziel. It's kind of a dry story, but it was an important time and several of my friends and family had huge rolls to play in this stuff so that's why I'm telling you all about it now.**

**And, to jazz it up a bit, I'm going to tell it from several different people's points of view which will also make it more authentic seeing as how I have personally interviewed most of them to get the 411 here. Okay, so enjoy! And don't forget to review this and you can also PM me if you have any questions, thanks! - S.F.L-W.**

**Lucian Graymark's POV**

So after the Uprising, Valentine had Robert Lightwood installed as the new Inquisitor and Malachi Dieudonne retained his position as Consul. All of the disloyal Council members were replaced with loyal ones and in place of the previously planned Downworlder representatives; there were instead, representatives for The One Tenth from each of the Downworlder species.

Downworlders who had a personal interest in helping Shadowhunters, or a long history of helping them were chosen. This meant that I was selected as the werewolf representative, Magnus Bane sat in the warlock seat, Camille Belcourt would be the vampire representative, though she arrived late as usual. And since Andrew Blackthorn of the Los Angeles Institute was married to a faerie, his wife was selected to represent the Seelie Court. The Unseelie would not have its own One Tenth representative, since no one we knew had ever met an Unseelie Court faerie worthy of a spot in The One Tenth. Anyway, I must admit a few people were shocked to see me and the other Downworlders there, but it was quickly settled, being one of the first items on the agenda.

"So, a few things to clear up for you all before we begin here today, the Clave and more specifically the Council have for a long time needed more checks and balances to insure that everything runs smoothly. That said, The Circle will be upheld as a major check for the Council and by extension, the Clave, because we, the younger generation have been handed down a lot of brokenness that we intend to fix. If you were to compare this for a moment to American Mundane politics, then the Council would be similar to the House of Representatives and The Circle would be akin to the Senate. So I hope that clears up some of the confusion. We are not taking over, we're just restructuring.

"Next point that needs to be discussed, why did we kill the previous Downworlder representatives only to install more of them? Well the answer to that is actually simple. The Council had wanted the Accords to give rights to all Downworlders. That is a terrible idea. As my good friend Lucian, who happens to be a werewolf was kind enough to point out for us, as a Downworlder your allegiance isn't automatically angelic or demonic. Rather, it is what you choose it to be. These particular Downworlders are here because they have publicly and privately allied themselves angelically for one reason or another.

"After some intel, it was revealed to us that the previous Downworlder representatives consisted of; a rapist, a con man, a harlot, and a thug. Now tell me, would you rather have that, or: Mr. Graymark, former Shadowhunter, Mrs. Blackthorn, married to a Shadowhunter, Mr. Bane, endorsed by Shadowhunter families for centuries and Ms. Belcourt, who has been informing for the Clave since before any of you were alive. Which group would _you_ rather see on the Council?" He asked them, with flourish, pointing to us each in turn. When he was finished the room applauded for us. It was quite the change to feel welcome.

Valentine went on to introduce all of The Circle members who would make up the counter balance to the Council and told us each of their specialties. Then, he spent some time explaining the planned projects for restructuring and improvement as well as the research for the cure.

"Now, we will be interviewing each of The Circle members as well as each member of the Council by way of the Mortal Sword, so that you are assured that the best people will be representing you. Everyone will be asked three two-part questions. 'Have you ever harmed a fellow Shadowhunter and why?' 'Have you ever harmed a Mundane and why?' and lastly, 'have you ever harmed a Downworlder and why?' If the three questions are answer to the satisfaction of the majority, then the Council or Circle member stays, if not, then they are dismissed. So you see, we are prepared to cull our own people as well as yours. Fair enough?" And again, the room erupted into huge applause. This was going very well so far.

**Magnus's POV**

I was surprised to have been called to the meeting of the Clave, and by Valentine himself nonetheless. I had assumed he was against all Downworlders and I suppose that maybe, for a time, he was. However it appeared that at some point he had made the decision not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Which I assumed had something to do with the fact that his own former Parabatai was now standing before us as a werewolf. I would bet that was what did the trick.

"Once we have culled our ranks, we will begin with the creation of new Shadowhunters. We will put a generic add out in the mundane community, something like 'Do you enjoy adventure? Are you open minded? Are you young and able bodied? Do you like physical activity such as martial arts? Are you looking to find your place and purpose in the world? Do you wish for a change from the life you've been living? New scenery, places and people? Then come to our meeting today!'

"And everyone who shows up will be asked to fill out a questionnaire about their health and physical ability as well as a quiz to determine their morals. Magnus, would there be some sort of inhalant truth potion that we could run through the vents in the room so that they give us their honest answers since we can't use the Mortal Sword on them?" Valentine asked turning to me.

"Yes, I believe I could come up with something. And I think that is a perfectly fair compromise for the creation of new Shadowhunters. Rather than having to evaluate them for months before their ascension. Instead we just find out what we need to know from them and then it's either a yay or a nay. No muss, no fuss, but you're still not going into it completely blind either. Anyone who passes the tests should likely survive the ascension process. Very good, Valentine, very good indeed." I said, offering my endorsement of this method. And again everyone clapped.

"Next, I want to talk about the search for the cures. As many of you know, we wish to find a cure for both Lycanthropy and Vampirism. We are aware that most likely no one has ever heard of such a cure, but as I've said before, no one had heard of a cure for Demon Pox until it was found either. Now, I will be doing everything that I can on the scientific front to find these cures but I would like it very much if The One Tenth could be of some assistance with this as well. Could the Faeries and the Warlocks work on the magical possibilities for us by chance?" He asked us.

"Yes, I will get in touch with Theresa Gray (whom some of you may know as Tessa Herondale) at the Spiral Labyrinth and see who we have there that might be worthy of the project." I said.

"Thank you Magnus." Valentine nodded and turned to the faerie representative.

"I will speak to some of our more reliable Fair Folk about this project as well. And may I also go on record here as saying that our Seelie Queen is _not_ of The One Tenth variety and should be _very_ closely watch from here on out by the Nephilim. I have no doubt of where her allegiance lies and sadly it is not with us." Mrs. Blackthorn said. _Hmm, I'm going to have to inquire after her first name rather than constantly referring to her as Mrs. Blackthorn._ I thought.

"Thank you, we will put that into the official record, that is quite valuable information." He smiled.

"Now the last thing I want to touch on is how The One Tenth works. If a Shadowhunter catches a Downworlder doing anything unsavory, the Downworlder will then be imprisoned by their local Enclave. As soon as they pass a simple test by truth potion and can find five Shadowhunters who will vouch for them, they are admitted into The One Tenth and pardoned. Unless their crime involves the intentional murder of a Nephilim or a Mundane, in which case there is no due process and the punishment for that is immediate beheading, the payment of a life for a life." This time instead of applause, there were quiet nods of agreement from around the room. And then came a surprising endorsement from a surprising source. My ex; Camille.

**Camille's POV**

"Even _I _realise you haven't been strict enough with the Downworlders. And that's bold of me to say, for there was a time in my own past, when I ought to have lost my head for my behavior. Mind you, I've done everything I can since then to make up for my past. But I held the wrong allegiance for a long time and really, if someone could have gone back in time and ended me to save all of the people that I harmed, then yes, I think they probably should have. In fact, as a show of good faith, I plan on turning over my human subjugates to the Clave because I don't believe it to be good practice anymore to keep human subjugates, especially for someone like me whose allegiance has always teetered on the brink of becoming destructive." I admitted reluctantly.

I knew that saying such things could end badly for me but I also knew that I had to believe that these people had the best interests of the world in mind, and considering how long I planned on living in it, something told me that I had better start caring about it too.

"Thank you Camille. And yes, I think we can all agree on that. Human subjugates should be outlawed as a whole, which brings us to another controversial topic. I have thought of a way to essentially eliminate the need for Faerie Changelings, so that in time we can put a stop to that process. For one thing, when we begin selecting new Shadowhunters, there will be many mundanes who don't quite meet the criteria for ascension and if they are only disqualified by a small margin, they could be offered the chance to live in The Faerie. That way there would always be new blood for the gene pool, yet without the need for Changelings or other sorts of trickery. They would know exactly what they are choosing." He smiled. _Ooh, this should be interesting!_

**Mrs. Blackthorn's POV**

"Do you think that would be enough? There are, after all, many Changelings made each year." I asked him.

"Yes well, we also plan on making many new Shadowhunters, and I believe the turnout from those invitations will be much higher than what we can accommodate. So it should help, at least. But there is another helpful solution as well. Since we will have so many new Shadowhunters, we won't be as desperate for them as we once were. Look at couples like yourself and Andrew. If we hadn't needed Shadowhunters as badly as we do now, do you suppose you might have chosen to raise your children in the land under the hill instead?" He asked and while I'd never thought about it, I daresay we might have.

"Yes, I suppose you're right, and I see what you mean. It isn't necessarily only Mundanes we are looking for, it could be Shadowhunters too, and that might serve a double purpose, because Shadowhunter children are far more likely to be angelically allied. In fact who knows, maybe one day we could have a Seelie Queen who is part Shadowhunter." I laughed, liking the direction this meeting had gone in. Sometimes all that is needed is a fair compromise.

**Mystery POV**

None of them knew that I could see and hear every word which they spoke. And I was completely furious! Angelic versus Demonic allegiances, who cares! And how dare that little trollop say such infuriating things! I vowed then and there that one day I would make that bitch pay. One day they would find out who they were messing with. I simply had to bide my time and pay attention. Then wouldn't they see their mistake when one of their precious little 'representatives' ended up dead on their doorstep, then maybe they'd rethink all of this foolishness!

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**AN: Okay, a little cliffhanger there for ya! Can you guess who that rotten tomato in the Mystery POV was?**

**Thanks for reading! Remember to post a review and whatnot ;-D See ya in the next chapter!**


	4. This Whip Wasn't Made For Smackin'

This Whip _Wasn't _Made for Smackin'

**AN: Hey Mundies! Seraphina Wayland here! Glad you all came back for more. This is the chapter where we explore discipline in the Morgenstern family. Jonah said I shouldn't even tell this story because it doesn't show Father in a very nice light, but that's exactly why it needs to be told, so you can see how far he has come over the years!**

**Oh wait a minute… I'm sorry, did you all think that the great Valentine Morgenstern was all docile now after fixing his marriage and winning the Uprising? That he just did a 180 degree turnaround and became a stand-up guy over night? Nope! Change takes time. And he still had quite a few more lessons to learn, so let me tell you about one of those lessons now :-D **

***And be warned, there is some violence in this chapter, so if you're squeamish, ya might wanna skip it.* - S.R.L-W.**

**Jonathan's POV**

I was six years old, the first time I got in serious trouble. You know, the kind of trouble when your mom says "Go upstairs and wait until your father gets home." Yup, that kind of trouble. What did I do to earn that kind of trouble, you might ask? Well, I kinda, sorta, set our kitchen on fire, maybe a little. Ahh, who am I trying to kid? I kinda burned it down. But only because I wanted to roast marshmallows! Anyway, by the time I had figured out the stupid fire extinguisher, the damage was pretty bad. My mom said we would have to replace everything because none of it was salvageable.

So, I was told to wait until my father got home and when he did… well, let's just say it was a bad day to burn the house down. Father had been working on a cure for Uncle Lucian day and night for a long time by then and he'd had a particularly frustrating day. He'd asked the warlock Magnus Bane to summon a demon, to see if anyone in the demon realm knew of a cure. Needless to say, the demon had laughed at him and told him to get a day job. I don't know if you've ever been laughed at by a demon. But as a Shadowhunter, let me tell you, it's pretty humiliating.

It would be like if a lion got laughed at by a gazelle. You know, cuz we hunt demons, so they're basically our prey. Anyway it put him in a rather foul mood and then he got to come home and learn that his wonderful little son had burned down the entire kitchen along with everything in it. Not to mention the fact that we all could have been killed in the fire. So, when he came up to my room, I knew I was in for it.

Especially when I saw him pull out something that I was pretty sure he shouldn't even have. "Jonathan, do you know what this is?" father asked me.

"It looks like a whip?" I tried.

"Yes, but not just any whip. This particular whip is tipped in demon metal. Do you know what that means?" He questioned me.

"Does it mean the whip has demonic properties?" father smiled then, pleased by my answer if nothing else.

"Yes, Jonathan. Just as you do. So, I feel that it's rather fitting to use it to punish you since you and the whip have that in common. Now, do you know what arson is Son?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Arson is setting fire to something on purpose in a place where there is not supposed to be any fires. Such as the floor of our kitchen. And arson is a serious crime, Son. Someone could have died today, do you understand that?" I nodded that I understood.

"Demon metal wounds do not heal. That means that the next time you are tempted to do something terrible, you will remember this because you will always feel the pain of it. Do you understand that?" And again I nodded.

"Good. Now I have decided to give you three lashes with this whip, one for each of the people who were in this house at the time, your mother, your sister and yourself, because any of those people could have died today. So I sincerely hope it never happens again, Jonathan." He said. "Now, pull up your shirt and lie down on your stomach." So I did.

Father readied the whip and began lashing me hard across the back, "One!" He yelled as I screamed.

"Two!" He yelled slightly louder as tears poured down my face. "Three!" He screamed and after the third, he dropped the whip and fell to his knees beside me. As he watched the welts on my back fill with blood, he felt something that I knew would always haunt him, whenever he saw my back. Remorse. It would haunt him more for the rest of his days then the physical pain of it would haunt me. He disposed of the whip after that and we never saw it again.

When mother came up to see what the screaming was about, I could see the horror written on her face as she looked from my father to me. Yet she didn't say a word to him. I guess she felt that the guilt and anguish she saw written on his face did more to punish my father than her yelling could have. Instead she quietly took me from the room without a word to either of us and tended my wounds. After that I sort of forgot about them.

* * *

It wasn't until that night when I changed clothes and then tried to lie down to sleep that they started to flare up again and hurt so much that I couldn't even lie on my back. I cried myself nearly to sleep that night until somehow a little pale hand turned my doorknob and found its four year old way into my room. "Jon-Jon?" She asked, speaking more clearly then she had back when I was 'Jah, Jah.'

"Yes, Sweety?" I asked her.

"Do you've an owie?" She worried.

"Yes, Phinny… a big owie." I said, sniffling.

"Kissie better?" She smiled, placing her hand near but not on my bandages.

"Sure Phinny, you can kiss me better." I sighed. And she ever so gently kissed my back and then kissed my forehead and ran out of the room calling out as she left,

"Nite, nite, Jon-Jon!"

"Night Phinny." I cried, wishing a kiss could have really made it better. At least my own crying helped drown out the sobbing sounds coming from the next room. The ones that I knew echoed my own but belonged to a much older man, who couldn't help but blame himself for my pain and would through all the years to come. I had learned my lesson that day, of course. But unfortunately so had he. And his was a much harder lesson to learn.


	5. The Wayland Lightwood Merger

**Thanks to my super awesome beta Jace loves me for fixing my mess ups!**

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The Wayland/Lightwood Merger: How Two Families Became One

**AN: Hi folks! Seraphina here, obviously, I mean who else would it be? Nevermind I take that back. J.R.'s been known to jack my keyboard on occasion so be warned that one day he might do just that :-P**

**Anywho, thanks so much to my Guest reviewer for Chapter 4! It _was_ sad, yes. Thankfully I don't remember it much, but to this day (even tho they've been gone since I learned to work a stele) he still gets phantom pains sometimes and it breaks my heart. But yeah, you see why he didn't want me to tell you that story. But to be fair I did have my Dad's permission to tell it because he says it was a significant turning point for our family and for him personally. He never laid a hand on Jonah after that, just so you know.**

**This little piece has more to do with my in-laws than with my own family but it is significant in the grand scheme of things as well. And again, just a reminder that if you get confused reading my stories, just go back to my user profile and if the answer you're looking for isn't there you can always PM me! And please remember to post a review if you get the chance!**

**-Seraphina R. Lightwood-Wayland**

**Amatis's POV**

It was 1996 when I finally decided that enough was enough. Not for me, because really, things were good with my own home front. It was Maryse I was truly worried about. I sat down with my husband and decided it was time to have 'the talk'.

"Michael, can we sit a moment and chat Babe?" I asked sitting on the arm rest of the chair he was drinking his coffee in.

"Sure Sweet thang, what's up?" He asked, turning to give me his full attention. That was one of the things I respected most about Michael. He knew when to listen.

I sighed and looked into his eyes. I paused a moment for effect and then I spoke. "You really can't quit him can you?"

"No, I can't and I don't want to Honey. I'm in love with Robert the same way that I'm in love with you. And he knows better than to ask me to quit you." He sighed.

"Sorry, that came out wrong. I'm not _asking _you to give him up, I'm just seeing how invested you are in it. Maryse is dying inside. Robert ignores her completely, Michael. You say that you love us equally and I believe _you_ do. But tell me, does Robert still love _his _wife? Because if he doesn't, then I'm afraid he needs to tell her that." I said, exasperated with the state of things.

"Of course he does! He just doesn't know how to communicate with her. Robert… harbors a lot of guilt over our relationship. He feels like he has failed Maryse and is disloyal to her. He assumes she must see him as less of a man for being with me. In fact he's convinced she's only stayed with him because of the children." He said, head hung low.

"Okay, that's all I needed to know. I'm going to talk to her tomorrow and if things go the way I hope they will, I might have a solution to this that will benefit everyone. Do you trust me?" I asked him.

He smiled lovingly and stroked my cheek. "With all my heart, yes."

"Okay, then leave it to me." I smiled.

* * *

The next day, I planned a trip to Lightwood Manor, when I knew Robert wouldn't be there. I rang the bell and waited for Maryse to answer.

"Hey girl! What brings you here?" She said cheerfully.

"Do you have some time to chat? I have something I wanna run by you." I grinned mischievously.

"Okay, let's sit on the step, it's gorgeous out here and I need a break from cleaning anyway." She laughed.

Do you know why my marriage in such good shape Sweety?" I asked, careful with my tone so she would understand my intentions.

"No, but I have wondered how you do it, or if it's just a really good act." She sighed dismally.

"It's not an act. And it works for two reasons. Firstly, I've made a point to understand that what Michael has with Robert isn't going away, but it doesn't have to take away from what he has with me. When Amelia was born and became a part of our family, it didn't mean that we loved Jonathan any less. Just as I'm sure it's the same way for you with Alec and Isabelle. Now, do the children get jealous of each other and need the occasional reassurance of that fact and of our love, yeah, you bet they do. But there is no question that we have room in our hearts for both of them." I said as tears silently fell from her eyes she nodded that my point was made.

"What's the second? You said there were two reasons it works." She asked me.

"Yeah, the second is simply that Michael is hands down better at showing affection than Robert is." I laughed.

She started laughing in spite of herself. "By the Angel! You can say that again!"

"At any rate, I have an idea that's going to seem pretty crazy. But I honestly believe it will work wonders for all of us, that is, if you're willing to give it a shot." I said nervously, knowing that this was the moment of truth.

"Okay, what is it?" she waited patiently.

"How would you feel about a merger?"

"A merger? You mean like when the Clave and The Circle finally came together, because that has worked wonders!" She smiled for the first time in a long time.

"Yes, exactly like that but instead of the Clave and The Circle, it would a merger of households." I state and watch as the wheels start turning.

"I get it. Part of the problem for me has always been Robert disappearing on us to go spend time with Michael. I know they would have been together anyway as Parabatai, but it's different when it's intimate time because we're constantly left out. Whereas, if he didn't have to go away to be with Michael, then we wouldn't lose so much of his time." She grinned.

"Yes and also, you both need the chance to see that his being with Michael doesn't mean he loves you any less. It's hard to understand that when it's constantly a battle of who gets to spend time with him. When it's out of our sight it's easy to assume they're spending all of that time doing couple things but they're still Parabatai, Maryse and I'd hazard a guess that a large chunk of that time is spent doing other things. Of course there's only one way we'll ever find out." I smirked.

"So I guess the only question that remains is, your house or mine?" She laughed.

* * *

We spent the next few hours discussing logistics. It was decided that Michael and I would move our family into Lightwood Manor because they had a lot more space than we did. Now all that remained was to run it past the boys. So that evening, we called our very first Lightwood/Wayland family meeting to order to discuss it with them.

"So ladies, how much trouble are we in?" Robert asked as we all sat down in their family room after putting both sets of children to bed.

"Absolutely none, my Love, in fact what Amatis has come up with is a solution to the trouble. How would you like it if you never had to set one single foot out of your own front door in order to see Michael?" She asked him.

"You're kidding, right? How would that be possible? Unless you're kicking me out and the Waylands are taking me in." He joked.

"Actually Robert, it's more like the two of you would be taking us in. Maryse and I thought it might be easier on you boys if both families could live under one roof. Of course, it's also up to the two of you. If you don't like the idea…" I trailed of.

"No, no, we like it! Don't we Robert?" Michael pleaded silently.

There was a pause, during which Robert was clearly contemplating. Then with a look that said so much, he swept Maryse up in his arms, repeatedly whispering "Thank you!"

"You might want to give Amatis a little of the credit too. After all, it was her idea!" She laughed. And then the hug turned into a group hug and we knew that our domestic troubles would be greatly reduced from this point forward. Of course there would always be new issues, but we would work through them together as a family, which is what we are, a family.

* * *

"Well I think that's the rest of them!" Robert said, bringing the last of our boxes in from the wagon.

"Fantastic! Now we get to relax right?" Michael asked.

"Nope, sorry, now we get to unpack!" I laughed.

"Aww, man! Can't that part wait until later?" He pouted.

"Hmm, let's see. Do you want to have a toothbrush tonight? How about a razor in the morning? What about clothes? I think we'd better unpack first." I said, having to be the fun police for once.

"Well now, I don't actually mind if Michael's clothes stay packed you know. I'd perfectly alright with him prancing around here in the buff." Robert laughs playfully.

"So would I Robert, but there _are_ Maryse and the children's eyes to consider." I stifle my laughter.

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" Maryse chuckled. To which Robert scooped her up, flipped her over his shoulder and spanked her playfully.

"Oh you're not are you? Oh well fine then!" He said tickling her into a fit of laughter.

"Okay, okay, I give! Let's get out of their hair then and let them unpack!" She quietly told him with a suggestive undertone before dragging him upstairs. "Come and get us when you're done unpacking and we can make something to eat okay?" She asked.

"Sounds great!" Michael called. "I just remembered does us living here mean we get to eat Maryse's cooking more often?"

"I suppose it does, yeah. What's the matter, don't like the way I cook?" I teased. Everyone knows I can't cook.

"It's alright if you like things burnt or raw, I suppose." He chuckled.

"Hey now, watch yourself!" I threatened him with a shoe that I was unpacking.

"Or you'll stab me with your stiletto? Have a sole!" He punned, passing me the other shoe.

"Very punny!" I shook my head, laughing a little in spite of myself.

Just then, the kids came running in from outside. "Mommy, mommy, I'm going to like living here!" Amelia smiled striding over hand in hand with Isabelle.

"Us too, baby girl, us too." Michael said, taking my hand in his. "Thank you Mama Bear. Thank you so very much." He smiled, kissing me tenderly.

"Anything for you Papa Bear, anything at all." And I couldn't help but think of how funny life was. Five years ago, I was still crying over Stephen Herondale and cursing Valentine for deciding that only he knew what was best for everyone. But now, looking back on these last five years, maybe he did. Maybe he somehow did.


	6. The Naming of My Jonah

The Naming of My Jonah; Who Was _Not_ Eaten by a Whale

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**Thanks to my beta, Jace loves me for fixing my errors. And to my Mom for pointing out the one that slipped through!**

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**AN: Hi folks! Seraphina Wayland here! This one is a brief snippet of how Jonah got his name. There isn't any action or anything like that but it's a cute little story and it was an important event in our family at least so I wanted to include it. And it does coincide with some other things that were happening at the time. This will also be the first one I tell from my own point of view, because it's the first story I vividly remember from when I was old enough to _have _a point of view, okay? Okay! - S.R.L-W.**

* * *

I was sitting in my living room one day as a child sketching a picture, which is something I have always done. Jonathan was sitting beside me pretending to be reading. He did read a lot, but when he felt like it, not when someone told him to, which is why he wasn't reading right then, because he was supposed to be.

Instead, he was watching me out of the corner of his eye. And that same eye, started getting a mischievous glint in it. Right before he grabbed all of my pencils and launched them into the fireplace!

"Jonathan!" I screamed. "Mom! Jonathan's ruining everything!" I yelled.

Our mother came into the room with a worried look on her face and asked "Roxanne, what's wrong?"

"Jonathan threw my pencils in the fire! Now I have nothing to do!" I cried.

"Alright, Jonathan, you know it isn't okay to take your sisters things, especially not if you're going to wreck them. What do you say to her?"

"She was staring at me mom!" He yelled in my face. Oh yes, lovely apology that was!

"That's no excuse! Now please give your sister a hug and say you're sorry!" She demanded.

So Jonathan came over and gave me an angry hug (you know, those ones where you squeeze too hard on purpose to be mean) and he said "Phinny, I'm sorry that your dumb face made me angry and your dumb pencils were easier to throw in the fire than you would have been. Would you like me to put you in the fire instead next time?" He growled.

"MOMMY! JONATHAN JUST SAID HE'S GONNA THROW ME IN THE FIRE!" I screamed, running to my mother and hiding behind her skirt.

"NO! I just asked her if she wanted me to, I didn't say I would!" He complained.

"Alright, enough, both of you! Jonathan I heard what you said to her and yes, it was a veiled threat, if not a direct one so knock it off! And Roxanne, try to understand, Jonathan's just acting out because he wants attention Sweetheart. Your brother loves you, whether he wants to admit it or not." She smiled, fixing my hair.

"But mommy, I can't draw without pencils! What do I do instead?" I huffed.

"Well, you could try looking at a book like you were asked to." She offered with a wink.

Uh oh! I had forgotten that I was supposed to be reading too! So I grabbed a book of Bible stories and sat down.

I flipped it open to a story that was about a man named Jonah who was naughty because he didn't want to do what he was told. I laughed because he sounded just like Jonathan, grumpy and disobedient. Yup, sounded about right. Then I looked at the name again and I realized that if you took the letter 'T' and the last 'A' and the 'N' out of Jonathan it spelled Jonah. So I laughed again. And then… I almost died of laughter because on the next page, he got eaten by a whale!

Jonathan came storming over to see what I was laughing about and I just couldn't help myself. "Go sit down Jonah!" I said. "Leave me alone before a whale eats you!" I grumped.

"A whale? You aren't that big." He laughed.

"I'm serious Jonah! You're _just like_ the man in the story! He was naughty too and his name is even part of your name. And God got mad at him and he got eaten by a whale. And so, if you don't stop being a bad boy, then _you _will get eaten by a whale too!" I complained.

"Yes, but he did the right thing in the end now didn't he?" Jonathan asked me. "Keep reading, you'll see that after the thing with the whale, he decided to do what God wanted him to do." Jonah smiled, and yes I had decided to call him Jonah from that point on.

"Well, _Jonah_, is that your way of saying you're gonna be a good boy now?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh Phinny, I always try to be a good boy. It's just hard sometimes. I still love you though, even when I'm being a jerk. Come here!" He pouted and so I went to him and he just held me soothingly and made it all better.

"I'm still gonna call you Jonah though." I huffed into his shoulder.

"That's okay. It's about time you had a nickname for me that didn't come from you just saying my name wrong." He laughed. "Besides I kinda like it. Jonathan's so long anyway, maybe I can just have everyone call me Jonah?" He asked me, looking for permission to use the name I gave him.

"Yeah, Jonah, that's fine! Then you can everyone how your awesome little sister named you." I laughed and he still didn't let go of me.

"I don't know about awesome Phinny, you can be alright sometimes." He smiled and kissed me on the forehead. Just then our mom came in from the next room.

"So, you two are done fighting then? That's good, because I have to go over to the Lightwood-Waylands for the rest of the day. Amatis is about to have her baby and they've asked me to take the older children out-of-doors for the day and watch baby Max." She said plainly.

"Mommy, why don't you just take the wagon with you and bring them all here to play for the day? I'd like to see J.R. and I know Phinny's dying to see Izzy." Jonah said.

"Yeah mommy! Jonah's right, can you do that instead?" I pleaded.

"Well I suppose I could…and what did you just call your brother?" She asked, surprised.

"Phinny started shortening my name to Jonah but I like it, mother, in fact I'd like everyone to call me that." He smiled proudly.

"Jonah… the reluctant missionary? Yes, I think it suit you just fine Son. So if it's Jonah you want to be, then it is Jonah you shall be. Besides, it is shorter by one syllable and easier to write, so I think it's a good choice. I'll let your father know when he comes back today." She said and grabbed her hand bag, then turned to tell us one more thing.

"Now while I'm gone, I want you two to pray for Amatis and the baby. She's had a rough time carrying him and I suspect she may have a rough time birthing him as well. I think this will be the last baby born into that family at least for this generation. They've had so many scares with this pregnancy; I think they'll be counting their blessings after this. Robert's been beside himself with worry. Maryse has never had any problems and Amatis was fine bringing Amelia for Michael. I think he feels it's somehow his fault, poor thing." She said the last part more to herself than to us. The grown up dynamics in their family were seldom discussed in front of us. Then she said goodbye and went out to hitch the wagon.

"Well what do we do now?" I asked Jonah.

"You heard mother, Phinny. We pray. We pray _a lot_." He said, sounding worried. It took a lot for Jonah to worry, he wasn't a worrier by nature. So in that moment, I knew I should worry too.

* * *

"Izzy!" I smiled, pulling my best friend down from the wagon. "I'm so glad you got to come and play!"

"Isn't it exciting Roxy? I'm gonna have two little brothers after today! Ami's been upset since Max was born that she isn't be the baby of the family anymore, but I keep reminding her that she's still the youngest girl."

"Yes but it isn't the same, Iz!" Ami said as Jonah held out his arms to help her down from the wagon.

"Jump Ami, I'll catch you!" He laughed and she did jump. He did catch her but they both fell over in the process and laughed for a long time before getting up and dusting themselves off.

"That was fun Jonathan, let's do it again!" Ami giggled.

"No Jonathan, how about you don't do it again, she could have been hurt!" J.R. said.

Oh right! They were still all calling him Jonathan! I had to tell them. "Actually, it's Jonah now." Jonah and I both said at the same time and we laughed. Then I explained why we call him Jonah now and they all seemed to like the idea. Baby Max even smiled, because he was just nine months old and could barely say Dada let alone Jonah!

"Would you kids like to have some lemonade?" Mother asked them and enthusiastic heads nodded all around.

"Perfect! I'll take the baby in with me and go make some. You boys and girls play nice out here!" She said to the six of us older children.

"Yes Ma'am." We all said.

* * *

"One, two, three, NOT IT!" I yelled, followed by a chorus of "not it" from all the other kids. It was several hours later after we'd played all kinds of games. Everyone said not it except for Izzy. Because she was watching something coming up the road. It was a horse, carrying Michael Lightwood-Wayland on it and he was coming up fast. For a moment fear gripped all of our hearts as we watched that horse approach. I know I wasn't the only one of the older kids who feared the worst.

When he dismounted his horse all of the kids ambushed him. "How's Mama?" Some asked while others asked about the baby. He paused for a moment to collect everyone's attention and by then, Mother had rushed out of the house with baby Max and joined the group.

"Amatis and the baby are fine, just fine." He smiled, with tears brimming his eyes.

Jonah was the first to break the silence. "Good because I prayed real hard!" He grinned and everyone laughed. Michael took baby Max in his arms and smothered him with kisses and then hugged each of the children in turn. That's the nicest thing about their family. There was no distinction to be made. All of their kids called Michael Papa and Robert Daddy, Amatis Mama and Maryse Mommy. And all of the parents loved all of the kids the same no matter who had brung them into the world.

And I know that one day when J.R. and I have kids, it'll be the same story. They'll have six grandparents, two from my side and four from his. Not to mention a whole lot of aunts and uncles, including my brother Jonah, who came into his name that morning, on the same day that Rufus Brandon Lightwood-Wayland (who some people still thought of as a miracle baby after all these years) came into this world. It was a day we will always remember.


	7. Jonah's First Rune

Jonah's First Rune (Also Called When Jazz Hands and Jazz Piano Don't Mix)

**AN: Hello folks! Okay, so this is a story that almost breaks my heart to tell because it was one of the scariest moments of my life. I almost lost everything that day. And I would have been lost myself. Thankfully this story has a happy ending but it almost didn't and I can't even write it without my heart breaking all over again. It makes my hands shake and my body tremble when I think of what my life would have been like if I'd lost him that day. - S.R.L-W.**

Jonah has always been so good at making me feel. Sometimes he make me feel angry, sometimes hurt. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad. Sometimes yearning, sometimes loved. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. Sometimes anxious, sometimes pained. Sometimes intense, sometimes needy. Sometimes bold, sometimes timid. Sometimes scared, sometimes terrified. But he has always made me feel something. And that day, that fateful day, I felt everything.

I was just a kid. Not even fully a Shadowhunter yet. And neither was he. It was just an ordinary day in the life of two young kids. But it was almost the end of everything. I used to love to sit and listen when Jonah played the piano. Our father had insisted on piano lessons for both Jonah and I. Me, I was terrible. So terrible that I wasn't even allowed to touch the keys anymore. But Jonah, Jonah was a protege. We all knew it from the very moment he first tickled the ivories.

J.R. is like me, he can't play a note. Jace plays, and I must admit he's pretty good. But Jonah, when _he_ plays, it's like all of the Angels and Demons in the world lay down at his feet. Listening to Jonah is like watching a sunset. You know the beautiful colors will be gone soon and so you try to memorize them because you know the next time won't be the same. That's what Jonah's notes are like. And normally I would just sit quietly and listen.

I still wish to heck that's what I'd done that day, but I didn't. I don't know what my problem was. I don't know if I was hopped up on sugar or just having cabin fever or what. But I was antsy. And my nervous energy must have been rubbing off on Jonah because he was standing up to play (something he never normally did). I wanted to show him that I could rock too. I don't have musical talent but I do like to move to the music and Jonah was playing some jumpin', jivin', beat from the roaring 20's.

So I was doing what little girls did when they have energy to burn. I was dancing. Isabelle had shown me Jazz Hands earlier that week and I was trying to get it right. But I couldn't do it. Instead of the way it should have been done, I would abruptly throw my arms wide and then try to wiggle my fingers to the music. Well, those of you who are familiar with Jazz Hands are probably laughing at that image right now. However it was really no laughing matter what came next.

I had danced closer to the piano so I could feel the notes resonating through me. I took another step in and for some reason I shut my eyes. And tried to do the stupid Jazz Hands. But instead, I hit Jonah. Hard. And I don't know if he was tired when he had opened the piano that day but it was all the way open at the time and yet the long leg wasn't quite in the right spot. Close but not quite. When I hit Jonah, he stumbled forward enough that the lid came down. On his head. Hard.

Now you may think that doesn't sounds too dangerous, but let me ask you would you want your child to have a 50+ lb piano lid fall squarely on their head any time soon? I would hope that the answer to that would be a no. Regardless of what you _think_ would happen to said child, let me tell you what _did_ happen to Jonah. As soon as the lid landed, I started screaming. Our mother came running in from the other room and we both tried to lift the lid off of him.

I don't know how we did it, sheer force of will and well trained muscles I guess but it finally lifted and I put the leg back in while Mom held it up. When we turned our attention back to Jonah, we realized he was unconscious and all of a sudden, my mom and I both got a very bad feeling. Almost like a heavy sense of doom and it was like without knowing for a fact what was going on inside of Jonah, we both somehow knew he needed help right away.

My mom pulled out her stele without even thinking, Jonah was almost ten now, he should be able to handle a rune right? Well his odds with that were better than if we did nothing. So, she drew the rune. He revived a little and she carried him to the sofa. He still did not look good. Now, keep in mind, that I had never drawn a rune before except with pencil and paper. And no one knew yet what I was capable of.

Yet something inside of me screamed at me to ask her for the stele. "May I try, Mom? Please?" I pleaded.

"Yeah, here." She said, though she didn't look too hopeful.

I channeled all of my positive energy and desire to save my brother into that rune. It was, at first glance, an Iratze. Of course later when we compared it to one, we realized the curves were actually different. It only took a moment for Jonah to go from almost dead with what we later found out had been a brain hemorrhage, to perfectly fine and acting like nothing had happened.

All the other Angel Babies had already had their powers manifest and everyone was beginning to think I didn't have any. Well, apparently I did and they couldn't have come at a better time. I never would have forgiven myself if Jonah had died because of my carelessness. Of course, he tried to say there was nothing to forgive.

"Phinny? What happened?" He asked me, seeing our worried expressions.

"I… you… oh Jonah! I'm so, so, sorry!" I cried.

"Roxanne saved your life, Jonah. You were touch-and-go there, briefly. It seems your sister has found her Angel Power after all." Mother smiled.

"But Phinny, if you saved me, why are you sorry?" He asked, confused.

"Because! It was me who hurt you in the first place!" I sighed, cuddling into him, so relieved, yet still feeling so guilty.

"Look at me. I'm fine and you saved me and I love you!" He laughed at me for worrying.

"I'm just glad you're alright!" I said, laughing.

"Me too!" Mom smiled.

"So… does that mean we can go for ice cream to celebrate?" Jonah asked.

"It does, my Son, it definitely does!" She laughed and so we all went out for ice cream.

Later when Dad got home and heard the story, as soon as he found out Jonah was fine, he was ecstatic. Jonah had survived his first Rune as well as cheated death, meanwhile I had a powerful new ability that no one had ever seen before. In _his_ eyes, it was a good day for our family a good day indeed.

In my eyes, it was the day my own carelessness almost caused me to lose the most important person in my life. And in all sincerity, a life without Jonah would have been no life at all.


	8. Runes are Better than Science Daddy

Runes are Better than Science Daddy, Let me Show You Why

**AN: Hi, Seraphina Wayland here! Okay, so this is a story of the crazy rune I created and what it has done in the Shadow world. I was hesitant to tell this story because I don't like to toot my own horn, but I was told it's a part of our history and that I should tell it. So, here goes nothing!**

* * *

After learning that I have special power with Runes, Dad put me into very extensive Rune training, so for the next two years after discovering my power, I had practiced every Rune in the Gray Book and learned them inside out, as well as learning and documenting many more Angelic Runes of older origin. But I think the thing that no one could possibly have anticipated, was my ability to create new, never before seen Runes out of thin air using only a Stele and my gut instinct.

I started creating Runes for almost everything. However, some of the Runes I created would not work when anyone else attempted to draw them. Some Runes, it seemed, could only be marked by me. I continued randomly, going where the inspiration took me for those two years, until finally, I stumbled onto something life changing, for all of us.

Dad wasn't home much in those days. Mom had made him move his laboratory to an unused building in Alicante because she grew tired of hearing people scream when some of the experiments were painful (and yes, every person Dad experimented on after the uprising, submitted to the experiments willingly.) A lot of the experiments centered around trying to find a cure for Uncle Lucian and other Lycanthropes as well as Vampires.

A vampire named Camille Belcourt underwent a ton of experiments down at Dad's lab because she said that if a cured could be found, she wanted to be the first one to have it. She stated that, she had lived many lifetimes already and found that immortality wasn't all it's cracked up to be. (Plus as a woman, I think she secretly wanted the chance to have children.)

Alec Lightwood-Wayland was another person who Dad experimented on. He wanted to find other ways to enhance the powers of a Shadowhunter without using Angel or Demon's blood. Through the experiments and with the help of Magnus Bane the warlock representative of The One Tenth, Dad discovered that warlock Magic in its purest form could as it was leaving the warlock's body in the form of blue sparks, be captured if done immediately.

One bottled, if a particular spell was cast over it, the blue fire could then be injected into a Shadowhunter and would thus cause that particular spell to flow through the person's blood permanently. Their individual life energy combined with the naturally angelic nature of Shadowhunter blood, would constantly refuel the spell's magic and whatever the effects of the spell would be sort of 'always on'.

It was though that experimentation that Alec became what we now call a Sureshot. Because of the nature of the particular spell that he was infused with, Alec's arrows never miss. And of course, as you can guess, something else wonderful came out of the experiments. Alec and Magnus met because of The Circle science program and they fell in love.

Another person who underwent a ton of time in The Clave science program and who I inquired with Dad about the other day because I met her out and about and she fascinated me, was Sky Madeline Amberjade. I won't tell you much of her story from that time because, well, you can ask her yourself. I will say, however, that I don't think another person exists anywhere besides Sky, who has traits from as many different species as she does and yet displays them so beautifully. To look at her, is to gaze upon one of the most mysterious marvels of the world.

For all intents and purposes, the results of Sky's experiments should not have been possible. In fact my father, being a meticulous person with a head for keeping records, to this day doesn't understand _himself _how Sky's creation was even possible. He has tried many times to replicate something similar to what he achieved with Sky, and nothing else like it has happened again since.

So, as you see, science can do many great and wonderful things. And as Valentine Morgenstern's daughter, I would be remiss to dispute that fact. However, there has been one thing over the years that science could not fix. No matter how many times Uncle Lucian or Camille Belcourt climbed onto the examining table in my father's lab, he sadly was not able to find a cure for either Vampirism or Lycanthropy.

And believe me, it was not for lack of trying. I used to go to the Lab to visit Dad sometimes, but one time I went and Uncle Lucian was undergoing a particularly painful experiment and he was just screaming over and over again 'make it stop! Make it stop!" I ran out of there and I never went back. That night at dinner, I said "Daddy, why have you been hurting Uncle Lucian? I thought the experiments were supposed to help people, not hurt them?" And I explained what I had heard.

He assured me calmly that Uncle Lucian wanted to be a Shadowhunter again and didn't want to be a werewolf anymore. He said that if they were going to find a cure, the experiments needed to go on, and that women in labor feel a tremendous amount of pain delivering their babies and many times they will yell things similar to what Uncle Lucian had said. But it doesn't mean they stop having babies because it hurts. And at the end, the little bundle in their arms is always worth the pain. Just the same as how getting to be Nephilim again would be worth the pain to Uncle Lucian.

After that I understood it, but it didn't erase the image and sounds of what I had seen from my mind's eye for me. And the next few nights I couldn't sleep. I had fitful nightmares of torture and gruesome experimentation. And every time, just before I woke up, I would see a symbol emblazoned in the sky. It was like a Rune, though not familiar. It was unlike anything I had ever seen or even created before.

Well, one day, Uncle Lucian came over and I was talking to him and just for a single moment, the symbol flashed behind my eyelids. Well, by this point we already knew that there are certain Runes which can be used on Downworlders. And Uncle Lucian had many times volunteered to be my guinea pig as well as father's. So, no one was entirely surprised when I said, "Uncle Lucian, would you come here a moment please? I just want to try something.

So he walked over to me and as I pulled my Stele out, he rolled up his sleeve. But I shook my head and said "No, my instinct is telling me this one needs to be over your heart." So he nodded and removed his shirt and then, I began to draw. What I drew was a beautiful series of intricate lines, even though none of us recognized it at all. When I finished, I took a step back to admire my work. Half the fun of creating new Runes was in being the very first person to admire their beauty and this one was exquisite.

However, it seemed at first, to do nothing. Or at least, that is to say that nothing happened. For a few moments, we all just stood there waiting. No one dared to move or speak and we all just stayed still and quiet. In the room at the time were Jonah and myself, Mom, Dad, and Amatis Lightwood-Wayland who had come over to visit her brother because Uncle Lucian was staying with us at the time.

To this day no one from that room has ever forgotten what happened next. There was a slight glow that appeared to spread throughout Uncle Lucian and as it moved slowly along, he screamed and clawed at his skin as if an irritating pain were burning through him. Amatis immediately began rushing around searching for acid to burn the Rune off, probably thinking it was killing her brother. For a moment even I thought my Rune might be killing Uncle Lucian, for I had absolutely no idea what it was supposed to be doing.

But just as Amatis ran back in with a jar of acid and was about to splash it over the Rune, something else happened. On Uncle Lucian's flesh, right where his old Parabatai Rune had left it's faded scar, an intense glow began. Lucian's eyes flew open with surprise and he began to clutch at the spot. He went down on his knees and at the exact same time, the exact same thing started happening to my father. He began to freak out as well and tore his shirt off then hit his knees as well. And there the two of them sat. Wide eyed and crying. I had never, ever, seen my father cry before and I never have again since. After a few moments, they both removed their hands to reveal the cause of the reaction. Where the old silver scars had been, a black, fresh, Parabatai Mark had been formed anew, which meant that the Parabatai bond was back! And that could only mean one thing.

My father looked Lucian in the eyes and said "See if you can change" we all knew what he meant. He wanted to see if Uncle Lucian was still a werewolf.

"I can't, the process won't even start, I'm trying!" Lucian exclaimed.

"Do you trust me?" I asked Uncle Lucian, suddenly knowing what I needed to do.

"At this point Sera? With my life, yeah." He grinned. So I took his arm and drew another entirely new Rune. As soon as it was finished, several of his other Rune scars turned black on his skin, making themselves new again. And again, he began to weep. This time accompanied by everyone else in the room as well. My Rune had turned Uncle Lucian back into a Shadowhunter. He was no longer a werewolf anymore.

"Seraphina, get a message to Ms. Belcourt. She's going to want to hear about this. I'm going into town to call a meeting of the Joint Council. Everyone will want to hear about this!" Father said and took my head in his hands kissing my forehead joyously. "Bless you child! By Raziel, bless you!" He laughed, still emotional.

And so, by the end of the week, I had successfully transformed four Downworlders back into Shadowhunters and successfully turned four Downworlders back into mundanes though four others did not survive the process. It seemed that former Shadowhunters were a guaranteed save, while former mundanes had a fifty-fifty shot of surviving the process. One of the four mundanes who did survive was Camille Belcourt. And she decided after all the wrongs she'd done in her long life that she wanted to do something to redeem herself and she has since completed her Ascension and joined the ranks of the Nephilim.

The other 'mundanes' who survived were a teenage wolf guy named Bat Velasquez, who was strangely also a D.J. He decided to Ascend and is now a Shadowhunter as well, along with a teenage wolf couple named Maia and Jordan. They all took postings at the New York Institute since they had previously been living in New York. Ever since then the joke has been 'New Yorkers live through it, they're made of tougher stuff.' And sure enough, none of the New Yorkers who have undergone the reverse transformation process since have ever died from it.

At any rate, we have a cure now. Sort of. The Rune doesn't work when it's performed by anyone but me. And since Dad doesn't exactly have any more Angels hanging out in the basement, there isn't really a chance of rebooting the Angel Babies program. Dad does think that if two of the Angel Babies were to procreate, then their children might get Angel Powers as a result. So we're all shipping Jizzy now :-P And some people are even shipping Amitrick. I dodged the Angel coupling bullet by getting married of my own free will. So, we'll see what happens with the others!


	9. Dr Jonah and His Pretty Little Patient

Dr. Jonah and His Pretty Little Patient

**AN: Hi Seraphina Wayland here folks! And okay, now don't worry, this story is going to be more than just what it sounds like. There were a lot of things going on during this particular time frame in Alicante and all of Idris. But since a lot of it is drab political stuff, I decided to splice it with something that was going on a little closer to home. I thought about not telling this part of the story or changing the names to protect the 'innocent', but hey, those who know us, get it. And those who don't like it, can eff off, thanks!**

* * *

So, after the discovery of the cure, The Circle science program began turning its attentions onto other things. You would think that meant that our dad would have been home more, since he was no longer trying to fix Uncle Lucian. But actually, it ended up that he started taking my mom with him when he went away instead. The Circle asked them to go around to the different Institutes asking for Shadowhunters willing to join the program with the possibility of receiving enhanced powers dangling before them as a carrot to a bunny.

And did Jonah and I get to go with them and see the world? Nooooo, we had to stay home and 'hold down the fort'. Well in place of _holding down_ the fort, we ended up spending our time _making _forts instead. We would hang blankets on clotheslines and build our own little safe havens. Indoors, during inclement weather or outdoors when the sun shone high. One day, while we were lying in our makeshift tent, looking up at the first stars of the evening (because it was a warm night), Jonah asked me something.

We had been reading Greek mythology all week in our study sessions because yes, we still had to study, even if our parents were away. So, while staring up at the constellations, lying on our backs, Jonah asked, "What did you think of the story today?"

"Umm, what about it?" I asked, not sure what he meant.

"What did you think of it?" He asked, obviously not caring to elaborate.

"You mean what did I think of Zeus posing as a bird to get close to Hera and then forcing himself on her? Umm, well it doesn't exactly sound like my idea of a party game." I said, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Yes, but don't you find their story odd in other ways? The myth clearly tells us they were what?" He prodded. And then I could sort of see where he was going.

"Brother and sister. It tells us they were brother and sister." I say, happy to have thought of the answer and feeling rather smart. "Are you asking me if I think it's odd that they were siblings? Because when you break it down, I think I find most of Greek mythology odd." I laughed, slightly confused still.

"Me too, and if it was just the Greek myths, then one could almost brush it off that way, yeah." Jonah began. "But take a look at the Christian Bible. Do you remember what was said of Abram and Sarai?" He asked.

"They were half siblings." I stated, again pleased at knowing the right answer.

"Exactly, now how about some mundane history… who was Cleopatra's first husband?" He smirked, assuming I wouldn't know the answer to that one.

"Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator." I recited without hesitation. "Her brother." I added, to further prove my knowledge.

Jonah smiled and resumed looking at the stars. "Good girl, you've been studying!" He grinned.

"Did I pass your pop quiz?" I inquired.

"Mmm hmm. With flying colors, baby girl, with flying colors." He mumbled. And we stared at the vast endlessness of the night sky, looking upon the intricacies of all the constellations.

"Look, there's Hercules." I pointed out, sleepily, before succumbing to exhaustion and falling asleep in our tent under the stars.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up with green grass stuck in my red hair and dirt on my face. But the fresh air felt so good. Jonah wasn't beside me anymore, he was cooking something in the fire pit. I walked up to see what was for breakfast.

"Good morning!" I exclaimed, sneak attacking him with a hug from behind. But Jonah moves fast.

So, with his lightning quick reflexes, he spun around in the middle of my hug and squished me, lifting me off the ground with the force of it. Then he kissed my forehead and said "Good morning Phinny! I made bacon, ham and sausage. It's almost ready. You hungry?" He asked me. And yes, sleeping in the fresh air had made me ravenous! So I nodded emphatically.

"I'm famished!" I grinned. "But you know, there are other food groups besides meat you know." I laughed.

"How'd I know you were going to ruin it by asking that? Oh yeah, it's cuz you're such a girl!" He teased. "But of course, I already knew that, so there are pancakes as well." He smiled proudly.

"Thank you Jonah!" I said hugging him again. Mom and Dad didn't have much time for home cooked meals, so they usually cooked a big dinner once a week and then we heated up leftovers or ate things like sandwiches and cereal the rest of the time. I guess with them away, Jonah figured we should live like kings or something.

"Hey, I know how to please you little sister. And believe me, I aim to please." He grinned.

We sat down to eat our meats and pancakes and it was all very delish. It was nice too, eating in the open air with the birds whistling in the trees and the sun rising orange and red above us.

Just then a horse came riding over the hill. "Who is that Jonah?" I asked my brother.

"I don't know," Jonah said hesitantly. "No, wait… That looks like Consul Dieudonne's mare." Jonah stated, sounding anxious.

"I hope everything's alright." I asked worriedly.

Jonah sighed. "Me too, and I guess we're about to find out."

* * *

"Hello Jonah, Seraphina. Are Valentine and Jocelyn home from Guatemala yet?" Malachi Dieudonne asked, dismounting his horse.

"No, Consul, I am afraid they are not. What's seems to be the trouble? We have ways of contacting them if necessary." Jonah smiled.

"I am afraid it will be necessary, yes. The Clave is calling everyone back to Idris as we speak. Especially The Circle members. It seems that the Fair Folk are divided in their wishes right now, so, if the wrong half of them get their way they might soon be entering into open rebellion against us!"

"I will draw the Tracking/Portal Combine Rune right away Sir." I said, heading into the house to do exactly that.

When the Portal opened, it opened into a marketplace in Guatemala, right behind where our parents were standing. I grabbed them each by the wrist and dragged them through before they had a chance to gripe about it.

"What is the meaning of this, Seraphina?" Dad asked me as I pulled them into our living room.

I steeled myself. I knew it was disrespectful to just bring them home without explaining but the matter was obviously urgent.

"My apologies, father. Consul Dieudonne is currently out in the front yard with Jonah and he just told us there is urgent Council business that you and mother are needed for. He asked that we let you know right away." I said, walking toward the front where I had left the others.

When Mom and Dad got out front, they motioned for Jonah and I to, of course, make ourselves scarce. So, we took some snacks up to Jonah's room to listen to music. "Do you think the Fae will separate? That could mean war or something couldn't it?" I asked him, trying not to sound scared. But he knew me too well to buy it.

He sighed, pulling me onto the bed with him. "Come here." He smiled. "Phinny you don't have to worry about it, whatever happens, the joint Council will figure it out, okay?" He said, stroking my hair softly.

"You're right, Jonah. I'll try not to worry too much." I smiled, trying to reassure him I was okay. And we laid like that, cuddling until lunchtime. When we went back downstairs, we found a note from Mom saying they had rushed off to the emergency Council meeting and wouldn't be back until late.

"Well, now what? We've already made forts so much I'm sick of them. We've played every board game in the house. And we've done plenty of studying, so what is left to do?" I pouted.

He appeared to deliberate a bit and got a really funny look on his face. Then he turned to look at me. "I know a game." He grinned. "But you'd have to trust me completely."

"Don't be silly Jonah. I will _always_ trust you, big brother. And you'll always take care of me, it's your job." I smiled brilliantly.

"Good, then lie down." He said, grinning mischievously. "We're going to play a game."

I complied, not in the least bit hesitant, after all, it was Jonah. I always did what he asked me to. He had never given me any reason not to. "Okie dokie. What're we playing?" I asked, a bit curious.

"Well, how about we play hospital?" He smiled.

I didn't know the game, so I asked, "Okay, what is hospital and how do we play it?"

Little did I know how well I had played right into his hand, "the first thing you do, is take of all of your clothes, okay?"

Now, I would hope, that if he had said _that_ to a _mundane_ girl, a few alarms bells might have gone off in her head. However we live in _Idris_. A very close knit, rural, somewhat old fashioned, community where everyone also conveniently, happens to be trained in the art of self defense, from a very young age. So instead, like the naïve little Nephilim I was, I said, "okay." and proceeded to strip.

_**Now, here's where it gets dicey, you see, I'm going for a teen rating here, so how about, you let me know if I overstep, okay? Okay, good!**_

"First things first, I need to test your temperature." He said, and instead of using an actual thermometer, he used a finger to 'check my warmth'. _***Wink wink nudge nudge.***_

I was, admittedly, shocked. But like I said, I trusted my brother, completely.

"Okay now let me listen to your heart rate." And he proceeded to lay his head on my chest. "Hmm, it seems to be elevated. Let me write that down. Oh and your face seems a bit flushed. I think you may be running a fever. I guess we'd better cool you off." He smiled, and proceeded to take an ice cube out of his drink and run it seductively all over my body. "There, all better." He grinned.

I still felt hot, but I can't say it was from fever. "Oh, and I need to give you a prescription, so here." He said, kissing me tenderly on the mouth. "Take these two kisses, and call me in the morning, okay?" And I nodded, as he proceeded to give me a second kiss, this time along my sensitive neckline. I shivered with the feather-light touch of the kiss.

Then he offered a hand to help me up and passed me my clothes. "Jonah?" I asked him.

"Yes, baby girl?" He smirked.

"May we play hospital again sometime?" I asked shyly.

Jonah laughed, amused by my reaction. "Yes, sweetheart, whenever you like."

It turned out that the Faeries didn't end up rebelling against the Clave after all. But even still, I never forgot that day. Or, our very first game of hospital. And I'd be a very naughty liar if I said it was our last. ;-)


	10. Becoming Parabatai

Becoming Parabatai

**AN: Hi, me again, Seraphina. I mean who else would it be, right? Anyway, this is the last one shot in this series and it brings to a close, my formative childhood years.**

**Watch for the start of my next story: 'Slipping Out of Youth, Into Truth'. Which will detail my messed up teenage years and explain why I feel the way I do about certain things and even people. It will also dip slightly into what the rest of the Angel Babies were doing during that time. However I won't get too in depth in case some of them would rather tell their own stories.**

**Enjoy this one and I'll see you next time! – Seraphina Roxanne Lightwood-Wayland - Xoxo!**

* * *

Izzy and I were sitting on the docks of Lake Lyn one day, on a summer day trip with our two families and the rest of the folk of the Inner Circle including the other Angel Babies. Don't ask me why they still called us babies when we were all either twelve or eleven years old, but they couldn't really say Angel Children, because all Nephilim are considered to be The Angel's Children. Anyway, I digress, sorry.

We were all dangling our legs in the water, much to our parents chagrin because if any of us fell in it could be fatal. However as some of the most powerful people on the planet, you could say we reveled in living a bit dangerously from time to time. Izzy and I had tootsie pops and we were having a race to see who could get to the center first. I was winning of course. I've always prided myself on my oral talent.

While we sat there, in the peaceful sunshine, I got to thinking. Izzy and I had been best friends since we learned how to walk. That was never gonna change. I would always depend on her cool confidence, and she would always depend on my lighthearted playfulness. We were already each other's yin and yang as far as friendships go, so I suppose it felt like the natural next step when I risked my lead in the tootsie pop contest to say "Izzy, have you ever thought about becoming Parabatai?"

She likewise took a break from her candy and said "No, I haven't. Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome! I just have never thought I'd be fortunate enough to have a Parabatai. So many Shadowhunters don't, I just, never figured I'd be one of the elite, so that's all." She said thoughtfully. "Should I be thinking about it? Are _you _thinking about it?"

"Maybe, I mean, a little. If I was going to be Parabatai with anybody, I'd want to be with you, no question." I smiled.

"Okay then, let's do it." She stated, leaving no room for discussion.

"You're sure? I mean, you _want _to, right? You wouldn't just be humoring me?" I asked a little worried that she would do it just because I had asked.

"Roxy, of course I want to! I love you like a sister and you are my best friend! There's no one else in the world I would rather be Parabatai with, so yes, we are obviously doing this!" She laughed cheerfully.

"Okay great! I'm not sure how we arrange it, I think we tell our parents probably and they would notify the Clave. I know there's an official ceremony involved, but I've never been to one, have you?" I asked her.

"No, but we'll both be attending one coming up I know!" She said in a conspiratorial whisper.

I looked puzzled, I'm sure. "We will be? Who else's having a Parabatai ceremony that we know?" I asked.

"You don't know about it? Our brothers! That's who!" She said, seemingly shocked that I wasn't aware.

"What? _Jonah and J.R.? _No one's said anything to me about it!" I huff, totally livid that Jonah would keep me out of the loop. In fact, I decided that I was going to march over and tell him so!

* * *

I told Izzy I would be right back and then I went to the tree my brother was sitting in, reading a book. I could barely see him, high up in the branches and I figured it was as good a place to talk as any, because no one could see us or hear us.

So, I climbed way up to the uppermost branches (which were still huge because it was an enormous tree) and I parked myself in front of Jonah trying to look angry. It was hard though, because the way his longish (at the time) hair fell into his face while he was too engrossed in his book to do anything about it was so cute that I just wanted to kiss him and not kill him, which was counterproductive at that moment.

"Why, brother, did you not tell me you're taking a Parabatai? I had to hear about it from Izzy!" I grumped at him.

"I kinda thought you might be offended. You know, like, if you'd wanted _us_ to be Parabatai or something." He said, looking up from his book.

"That's ridiculous! We could never be Parabatai, Jonah!" I huffed.

He scowled when I said that. "And why is that?" He asked, looking like I had greatly offended him. At that point I realized how that must've sounded to him. I quickly backpedaled, trying to make it up to him.

"Because, Jonah, Parabatai don't usually do _this!_" I said and then began kissing him like I was trying to kiss away all of the conflict and tension between us and it worked. He dissolved into my kiss and we stayed that way, lip locked for a long time.

He grinned smugly at me and said, "Technically Phinny, neither do brother's and sister's, normally." He laughed, pulling me closer.

"Yes, but I don't want to be your Parabatai, Jonah. I like what we have better." I sighed, relaxing back into his strong arms.

"Yeah for now you do. Until other boys start catching your eye and you forget all about me." He frowned.

I looked into the depths of his eyes, and speaking straight to his soul, I said, "No, Jonah, I will always have plenty of room in my heart for you, come what may."

"I hope so Phinny." He smiled and kissed me softly.

* * *

"All smoothed over?" Izzy asked me as I came back to our spot on the docks grinning widely.

"Yep, now, let's go tell our parents about our decision." I said, linking arms with her and wandering off to find the adults. When we arrived they were all chitter-chattering over in the picnic area.

"Roxy and I have an announcement to make." Isabelle stated.

I smiled at the group. "Yes, we want to become Parabatai."

"Parabatai, really?" Robert said looking at us thoughtfully. "You young ladies know that it's a big commitment?"

"Yes Daddy." Izzy said.

"You're not in love or something are you?" My Dad asked.

"Dad! What do you mean? No! Why would you ask that?" I said, embarrassed.

He glances over at Michael and Robert in an overly obvious way. "Just curious." He smirked smugly.

"Are you insinuating that we're setting a bad example for the children?" Michael asked, offended.

"Not a _bad _example. Just a_ different_ one. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time my daughter was caught with a girl." He looked at me, waiting for my reaction to that statement.

"Dad! Really! It was one kiss in a supply closet in third grade! And besides, Aline kissed _me_!It wasn't like I kissed her!"

He laughed at my indignant outburst. "Alright Seraphina, simmer down. I was merely teasing you. But I would like to hear why you girls are interested in becoming Parabatai. Because as I'm sure you know, it is a lifetime commitment. I wouldn't want to think this was only born out of a desire to copy your brothers."

"What? No! Why would we care about what _they're_ doing?" Isabelle huffed. She was going through a faze with J.R. at the time. He'd pull her hair and she'd scream blue murder. Or she'd pour water in his sock drawer. Their pranks had been getting out of hand. He even replaced her low fat vanilla ice cream with bacon grease at one point. So the suggestion that she would be idolizing her brother was, sufficed to say, an unwelcome one.

"Isabelle, don't be rude. Valentine was only asking a question. Your dad and I went through a ton of questions before becoming Parabatai too so it's just par for the course, to use a mundane expression." Michael said.

"Yes Papa. I'm sorry Mr. Morgenstern." She said, owning her mistake.

"No apology necessary Isabelle, I've seen enough sibling fights in our own household to understand how you feel." My Dad stated, to which Izzy and I laughed silently, almost choking on that joke. She knew about Jonah and I. She was the only one who did. So it was laughable to us for him compare me and my brother, who I was (and still am) over the moon for, to her and her brother, who at the time weren't even speaking to one another. (And thankfully for my sake, J.R. has never been close to either of his sisters in the way that I am close with Jonah, because standing next to Isabelle's exotic beauty or Ami's willowy prettiness, I was… well… not in their league.)

Soon Amatis, with her usual diplomacy, saved the day for Izzy and I. "I think what we're all trying to say here is… that as long as you both really want this, and are willing to go through the necessary preparations, we have no problems with the two of you becoming Parabatai. Do we, parents?" And she looked around at all of them with her quiet grace and stateliness and none of them dared contradict her.

Soon my mom chimed in. "That's right girls. And as the head of The Circle, I know that your father will be happy to assist you with making your arrangements with the Clave and the Silent Brothers, won't you Darling?" She smiled to my Dad.

"Yes, I suppose it would be my honor. Although I must admit it makes me feel ancient to think of my baby girl being old enough to have a Parabatai, Seraphina. So just know that as such, this is a huge sacrifice on my part." He said as dramatically as possible.

"Yes of course! Thanks Daddy!" I exclaimed, hugging him fiercely.

"Did you hear that Izzy? We are going to be Parabatai!"

* * *

"_Entreat me not to leave thee, Or return from following after thee—For whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried._ _The Angel do so to me, and more also, If aught but death part thee and me."_


End file.
